Liverpool have sacked manager Roy Hodgson and have replaced him with Kenny Dalglish who has taken the caretaker manager role until the remainder of this season.

“We are grateful for Roy’s efforts over the past six months, but both parties thought it in the best interests of the club that he stand down from his position as team manager,” said Principal Owner John Henry. “We wish him all the best for the future.”

Dalglish, a Liverpool legend as player and manager, will take charge of Liverpool’s game Sunday against Manchester United at Old Trafford. The Scot hasn’t managed a professional team in more than 10 years so it’ll be a true test of his abilities to see whether he can steady the ship at Liverpool and inject confidence into the side which is definitely lacking it currently.

Hodgson joined Liverpool as manager on July 1, 2010. Since then, the former Fulham and Blackburn manager had a difficult time as Liverpool manager. He was blamed for the signings of players who didn’t perform such as Paul Konchesky, Joe Cole and Christian Poulsen. Also Liverpool’s performance on the pitch was inconsistent. They beat Chelsea at Anfield, but lost to the likes of Northampton Town, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Blackburn Rovers and Blackpool.

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Publisher of World Soccer Talk, Christopher Harris founded the site in 2005. He has been interviewed by The New York Times, The Guardian and several other publications. Plus he has made appearances on NPR, BBC World, CBC, BBC Five Live, talkSPORT and beIN SPORT.
Harris, who was born and raised in Wales, has lived in Florida since 1984, and supported Swansea City since 1979. Last but not least, he got engaged during half-time of a MLS game.

10 Comments

So either Dalglish flounders with the remnants of Rafa/Roy’s team and taints his legend or he does really well, making it harder for him to walk away (and the fans to let him go) at the end of the season.

Hope this is change for the better, but it sets an awkward precedent for future managers – “Do well or we’ll have Kenny replace you!”

I don’t think too many people are surprised with Roy’s sacking. Clearly the owners decided to appease the fans by installing Daglish. Daglish hasn’t managed in more than 10 years so I’m not sure if he will do much better than Hodgson. At the same time I don’t think he can do worse than Hodgson.

I would have gone with an up and coming younger manager and dismantled the whole team in favor of younger talent. Start from scratch.

I see no risk in the move. If Kenny does well, the owners are left with a somewhat difficult decision. If he doesn’t, hardly anyone will blame him knowing the situation he inherited. I don’t think his legend would be tainted one bit. I would be willing to bet he wins more than one away match in the second half of the season.

It’s a shame but the results and style of play weren’t there. King Kenny will bring a Kop boost but it’s been 20 years since he’s been at Anfield, football on and off the pitch has moved on, will Dalglish be able to keep up?

The Liverpool team from Dalglish’s last time in charge of Liverpool played a more modern style than Hodgson’s 70s inspired regressive formation.
This is not a long term answer, but all Liverpool need to do for the rest of the season is avoid a relegation fight and play positively, even if they lose. Do that and the fans are satisfied, and the major rebuilding can start in the summer.